Meade ETX-90EC

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Meade ETX-90EC
Good scope (ETX-90) for a beginner (like me). Field tripod is a must. Good optics. Mechanics - well, not too bad for the price. Finder is almost completely useless. On high magnifications (300+) the objects are a bit dimmer than on some other comparable scopes. VERY easy and fast to setup for casual observation. You DO want to get some optional accessories like electronic focuser as well as software for PC.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37381

Meade ETX-90EC
My first scope. I've enjoyed it, and I've not found a problem with the mount. I bought the Deluxe Field Tripod and the Autostar and love them both. On the tripod, it's very stable and the Autostar is convenient for a rookie. Right now I wish I'd bought the 125, but I'll most likely use this one for quite a while before I upgrade. So far I like Meade products.


gaineso@netzero.com

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39007

Meade ETX-90EC
I HAVE HAD MY ETX FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS NOW. DURING THAT TIME I HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO COMPARE VIEWS FROM THE ETX TO OTHER TELESCOPES. I MUST SAY OPTICALLY IT IS
EXCELLENT. NATURALLY IT IS VERY LIMITED DUE TO ITS ARPETURE. THE MOUNTING SEEMS
TO BE THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT. IT'S MECHANICAL AND GEARING IS ALL PLASTIC. - BUT
SHOW ME A COMPUTER PRINTER THAT IS CONSTRUCTED TODAY THAT IS NOT ALL PLASTIC,
AND THEY DO A FINE JOB.
FOR WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO IT A VERY USEABLE AND CAPABLE TELESCOPE AND IN MY
OPINION IT IS A BARGAIN.

I GIVE IT A RATING OF NINE.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37382

Meade ETX-90EC
Got it for $225 new. At that price, cannot be beaten! Nice view (139x) of double double epsilon lyrae on the first night (before the clouds came in...) Can't wait to view planets/moon. Tracked well even with rough polar alignment. Again, for the money, its a steal!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37383

Meade ETX-90EC
I bought the scope only a few days ago for something other then my LX-10 out in the field. First of all the mount is a joke, second the focus didn't work. It is time for a return and hellp Celestron.

Overall Rating: 1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39008

Meade ETX-90EC
Beautiful optics - compare easily with the much more expensive Questar. The Autostar system works wonderfully - was able to find many objects that I never knew existed. The straight-through finder is useless. The motors in the drives need mufflers - very loud. The mount is OK, but the use of plastic for many of the internal parts is concerning.

Overall:
Optics - 10
Autostar - 9.0
Mount - 8
Finder - 5

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39009

Meade ETX-90EC
Although I am new to astronomy, I beleive that the optics of this wonderful telescope are unbelievable !!! The detail of the moon is something that left me with my mouth open...Of course the basic kit is poor, so I believe that a stronger eyepiece is needed and of course a tripod as well.
You really believe that you bought a serious scientific instrument !

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39010

Meade ETX-90EC
The Questar is 7.5 times better. But the ETX is a good scope
for the money. Fine optics. The fork mount indeed does look weak
but it's sturdier than you think. Don't buy an Autostar for it though.
The motor will fail.

daSentinel

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37384

Meade ETX-90EC
I have used MANY EXT scopes over the last few years, and they seem to run the gamut of mediocre to very good.

Optically at least.

Meade obviously intended these little scopes to give their owner the illusion of obtaining a "Questar-like" scope at a significant savings off the price of the "real thing".

Admittedly, some of them do have very good optics, but the consistency in quality control makes this a hit-and-miss proposition at best.

The first EXT I ordered for my personal use was kept all of 10 minutes. Purchased from Astronomics in Norman Oklahoma, when the scope arrived and was unboxed, the eyepiece holder on the scope was found to be out of tolerance, having an inadequate inside diameter preventing the insertion of the standard sized 1.25 barrel eyepiece that was supplied with the scope. Thinking it may be an eyepiece problem, I tried several different 1.25 eyepieces. NONE of them would fit into the EP holder ! And looking over the rest of the scope, there was an obvious "bend" in the focusing shaft as well as several cosmetic problems of various degrees. Not exactly what you would expect of a new-in-the-box telescope from a major manufacturer.

The MOUNTING you ask ? I'm sure enough has been said about that problem on this and other review pages. The scope is simply and very cheaply constructed of 75 percent or more PLASTIC ! Durability on a scale of 1 to 10 would be hard-pressed to rate a 2. Even as an optical tube on a camera tripod, the back control box area is almost entirely comprised of plastic, including the bearing areas of some of the critical moving parts. This does little to inspire confidence in the scope for anyone having experienced true "quality" telescope components.

With all of it's problems aside, I think the ETX as a simple optical tube assembly will make for a decent little "grab and go" scope for informal spot checks of the heavens. But as a serious observing instrument, Meade could go a long way in sales and public perception by making some small improvements to the optics while re-designing or re-casting all of the plastic with something more substantial. I just don't think the market is quite ready for "throw-away" disposable scopes just yet.

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37385

Meade ETX-90EC
Unforturnaly I bought into the ETX Hipe and bought a 90ra. The Good news is a paid only $250 new for it.

The optics are ok, not near as good as I have been hearing. What really makes it bad is the mount and finder scope. After spending 15 minutes with this scopes I usally get my TAL 2 out for more satisfactory viewing. Having fun viewing is what it's all about, and the ETX is not a fun scope. It perfoms as well as my 4.5" reflector (optically). Thats with a 1 hour + cool down. But the mechanics are worse then a department store. Save your money for a more serious MAK from LOMO,INTES, or even ORION! It would be worth it.

Overall Rating: 3
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39012

Meade ETX-90EC
At age 36 and having been into astronomy since I was 11, I am disturbed to read how many are buying ETXs as their first telescopes when the same money could be spent for a much better beginner's scope -- a 6- or 8-inch Dobsonian.

I have owned everything from a 60mm Sears refractor to an 8-inch equatorially mounted Newtonian reflector. I once had a key to our club's observatory and became very familiar with a 7-inch refractor. I became interested in the ETX when it debuted. I originally owned an ETX-90RA "classic," but replaced it with the /EC version when it came out. Yes, the telescope has excellent optics. I frequently wowed my older brother, who owns a 10-inch LX200, by splitting Castor at extremely high magnifications. The Airy discs were beautiful to behold.

However, after owning these scopes for two years (I don't own them anymore) I developed the following complaints. And if any prospective newbies are reading this, please take these complaints to heart because they're serious enough to make you start hating the hobby when in fact you should be hating the telescope.

(1) The finder, which is too small to see anything already, is mounted so that you can hardly get your eye up to it to use it. And if you're left-eyed, forget it. Your nose will be hitting the eyepiece or eyepiece holder before your eye gets close enough to the finder. And, the finder is useless when the telescope is pointed straight up or 10 degrees either side of straight up -- it's blocked by the base of the telescope. (This is precisely when you need the finder to polar-align the scope if you're in equatorial setup.)

(2) The mount is plastic, which makes for shaky images at high magnifications. (Yes, I tried every way to mount it, from tabletop to car hood to purchasing Meade's own tripod for it.)

(3) Because of (2) above, things wear after a while. After six months of using my ETX-90/EC (and using the associated plastic-against-plastic mount assembly), I found it impossible to lock the declination axis anymore. I had to disassemble the fork arms, clean away the globs of grease and plastic shavings (not a good sign of 6 months' wear), and insert my own metal washer so the lock knob could contact the assembly better.

(4) The optics are great until you get to the back end of the telescope. The "flip mirror" is a mirror glued onto a flip mechanism that never returns the mirror exactly to the same place. Very cheesy. If you own one and don't believe me, take the back screw-on port off sometime and flip the mirror back and forth. See how much attention Meade gave that important part of the telescope. Also Meade's quality control leaves something to be desired. There was virtually no focusing image shift in my first ETX; the second one would move objects literally from one side of the field to the other at about 150x.

I never used the Autostar option. After reading peoples' frustrations with it, and since I've been into astronomy for nearly three decades, I decided all I needed was the stock hand controller (which, by the way, had to be returned to Meade because it was dead in the box when I bought the telescope).

In summary, the ETX is a good set of optics on a very poor mount that appears to have been designed more for good looks than great views through the telescope. Even after as many years as I've invested in the hobby, this thing had me cursing at times every time I used it. From the horrible location of the finder to the mount that danced more than Fred Astaire, the scope is an exercise in frustration. If you're shopping for a first telescope, please do yourself a favor and get a telescope that doesn't get in your way. The ETX, at best, is an OK second telescope when you don't want to lug out the big one.

And I like Maksutov telescopes, by the way -- when they're on better mounts. My brand-new Orion Starmax 127 is on its way to me right now. (You can check out reviews of it on this site as well.) If you're turned on by the convenience of a Mak, take a look at these before you buy an ETX!

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39013

Meade ETX-90EC
I just got an ETX 90EC. I like it, and I have purchased/ sold 4 scopes in last 6 months. I got this scope to find DSO objects with computer and then find them with my bigger 6"-8" scopes. Anyway, some of the other negative reviews are right, and so are the positive reviews. The views in this scope are excellent. The AutoStar manual is horrible - it is what it DOES NOT tell you that you need to know. Anyway, after the first night of trying to align in polar I decided it was not worth it - you can't really focus it when in polar and close to Polaris (and there are 3 galaxies in that area I want to look at!!!). So, on second night I just did an alt/az alignment. It was easy. Level OTA, point towards north, then it finds first align star. Get it in center and then it finds second align star. center and then...cross my fingers....try GoTo M42 and....wow it found it first time. Put it right in middle of eyepiece. Wow - the computer really works!!!!!

Yes the mounting is primarily plastic but I find it solid enough for casual use - let's face it a 90mm scope ain't enough for really serious astro work so who needs an expensive mount. The tripod Meade Deluxe was excellent.

I found, overall, all workmanship was excellent. The mount, though plastic, was well made and tripod Meade Deluxe was excellent. The optics were stunning, focuser precise, and the AutoStar computer was vastly superior to Celestron products (although the user guide was horrible). I was just very impressed with the product compared to Celestron - the Meade is simply a superior product. You can tell that right out of the box.

So, for now I rate it:
Optics - 10+
Mount - 8
Drives - 8
Tripod - 9+
AutoStar - 10+
Ergonomics - 2 (finder hard to use, and can't focus near Polaris in polar alignment).
Price - $700 for scope, mount, computer - expensive for a 90MM with a computer that works? Not really - I rate the price a 7.5 better than average but no bargain. Actually I am going to get it for $500 altogether by buying a new one from my local astronomy club and selling the one I bought. The club got several of them when Nature Co. went out of business.

I am going to wait a few months before logging an official rating.

I just do not understand all the really negative reviews - what do you want for $700 in a Mak scope with optics superior to most reflectors and SCT in that price range and a computer that works excellently? This is not the best package out there but it is not the worst - if you are new to astronomy and have a hard time finding your way around the sky you will get a lot more frustrated using some dob mounted reflector and spending all your time searching searching searching for objects, when for same price you can have a sharp optical instrument that finds the objects for you!!!

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Meade ETX-90EC
Many of us grew up and got into astronomy in the pre-computerized GOTO age. Funny -- somehow we managed to find everything. Ever heard of setting circles? They do still work, you know. Oh -- but it takes a little thought and you've got to be able to add and subtract. That's right -- I guess our youngsters are too dumb to think for themselves anymore. We've gotta press that button for instant gratification.

The Orion Starmax 127 gives you two whole inches more aperture -- a very big leap in light-gathering power -- and costs only $539 with a tripod. Learn how to star hop and use setting circles and save a cool $200.

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Meade ETX-90EC
I wanted a small, portable scope to compliment my 10" Dob. Originally, I purchased an ETX-70AT with tripod and Autostar for $210. I play with that scope for about 3 weeks and liked the scope, but it wasn't what I wanted. I don't have much of a need for the Autostar as I know the night sky (I do have to say that the Autostar setup was very impressive when set up properly). I was mainly looking for a nice scope to view planets and the moon when I didn't want to drag out the Dob. I was able to make a straight across trade for an ETX-90RA with the Deluxe Field tripod. For a total price of $210, I think I got quite a bargin as the tripod retails for $199 and the scope can be had new for $180.

The optics on my ETX-90RA are beyond my expectations. Very nice star test and the detail on lunar views and planets are the best I've seen in this size scope. There are a lot of complaints about the mechanics and I agree that the mount could be better. However, if you want excellent optics and and excellent mount in the same size scope, your going to have to spend a lot more money and buy a Questar ($3000+). My primary dislike with the ETX-90RA is the finder scope. That is an easy and cheap fix, though. I stuck a red dot pointer on mine and it works fine for what I'm doing with the scope. Tracking is a bit jerky, but it is barely noticeable visually. I only see it when doing afocal photography. Again, this is an easy fix if you need to fix it. Nothing a little teflon and lithium grease won't fix.

All in all, I think this is an excellent scope for the price. If you want it to work great, your gonna have to put a little work into it. Optically, it is a great 90mm scope. The mount could be better, but you would have to pay for it. Easy of use is fine for what you get. It's basically an equatorial mount with an RA drive. Value....This scope can be had for $180. At that price, you can't go much wrong in my opinion. Had I paid the original $595 for the scope, I might have expected more from the mount. It serves it purpose, though, and i have a hard time asking more at this price. The OTA alone is well worth the $180. Consider the mount a freebee. If you hate the mount, put the OTA on something else. You can pick up a cheap, used Losmandy for around $1000 I'm sure. Do I think it is a great second scope...yes. Do I think it is a great primary scope....if you go into it aware and with open eyes....absolutely. There are far worse scopes out there in this price range.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=49070

Meade ETX-90EC
Despite the bad press, I asked for an ETX-90 RA from Santa, and I must have been good, because I also recieved the BIG #884 (not 883) tripod, which is the ONLY tripod for an ETX. My modified XT-8 is a tough travel companion, so i was pleasantly surprised at the one-hand portability the ETX with tripod affords! Yes, the controls are small, and the finder has 0+/-1 eye relief (I added a red-dot, and use the standard finder for fine-tuning), and a long f/ratio. On the plus side, the optics make a hero out of the most mundane eyepiece, and the motor drive has been flawless! I saw 2 large, and 4 small bands on jupiter, and banding on saturn, with the cassini all the way around, from my well-lighted front yard! The Orion Nebula showed a "seagull" shape, and the double cluster was littered with small and large pinpoints. 160-200x on the planets exhibits no image breakdown, just dimming. The ETX is in another league on the moon, with surface features and detail that my XT-8 just can't see. I ran the XT-8's standard 9mm plossl with an old barlow (277x) on the moon, and found no image breakdown! My 32mm plossl has excellent edge-of-field sharpness, which is not possible with my big reflector. Don't get me wrong, I love my XT-8, It'll show the eyes on the owl nebula on a good night, and I have lost count of the Galaxies I have seen with it, but for quick, sharp views of bright objects from my backyard, it's hard to beat the ETX. You may think of this comparison as groundless, considering the black and white differences between the ETX 90 RA and the XT-8, but consider this: The ETX, 884 tripod, Meade dew shield, and Celestron red-dot pointer costs the same (retail) as the XT-8!
P.S. I have looked through a TV ranger, Ill keep the ETX!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=51351

Meade ETX-90EC
I have owned this scope for a couple of months now - it has taken this long to fully master the Autostar but it has been worth persevering. I should add that I am not a total novice and have owned several scopes in recent years.

The optics are as sharp as a good 4.5" reflector and seem just as bright. There is no colour fringing (as there is with similar priced refractors) and star tests are perfect. Cassini's division is easily visible. There is more detail on Jupiter than with my 4.4" refector. Splits Polaris.

I have the deluxe field tripod which is very sturdy, but was a little expensive even at £159 (RRP is £180!). I like the bubble level built in.

People complain about the finder scope being awkward to use, but since this is only used to help centre two alignment stars (if you have the Autostar) this is not a major issue. It is well made and gives an erect image, but Meade could have thrown in some lens caps to keep the dust off!

I have had teething problems with the Autostar (version 2.0). Originally it found deep space objects very well (after lots of scrolling to find the object in the list!) but was less accurate on planets (usually in finder scope but not 26mm eyepiece)and even less accurate on the moon. I have greatly increased its accuracy though by training the motors using Polaris and a very high power eyepiece (6.3mm plus 2x barlow). If you use a telegraph pole as instructed you get the well known rubber-banding effect (when you centre an object the scope moves away again) when you try to locate objects high in the sky. Also,it would have been nice if Meade had included somewhere to hang the handset when not in use. It does not eat batteries like my Tasco (Celestron) Starguide 80GT though, maybe because the display is not back-lit? I am still on my first set actually. The motors are louder than my Celestron, I worry that this could annoy the neighbours on a still summer night with windows open.

With practice, the Autostar is now 100% accurate. Although it shouldn't be important, I have found that using a spirit level to the level the tube at set-up greatly helps.

This scope is a quality piece of kit for the price, but it is sold for beginers, which I would not recommend it for. The novice may have trouble mastering the Autostar and become frustrated - compounded further when he/she can't see that black-hole/quasar the scope is meant to be pointing at.

But if you have some experience and are looking for quality optics in a compact scope with accurate GOTO, then this scope comes highly recommended. It has helped me find objects I had never seen before. You can also see more in one night because it is so fast.

Finally, I am amazed by the number of accessories available and the amount of information on the web (which helped me solve the rubber-banding problem).

Gave it 8 out of ten. Lens caps and somewhere to hang the Autostar would have meant 9. If the price had included the Autostar (like Celestron N4) it would have got 10.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:8 Value:7
Weight: 9 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=55561

Meade ETX-90EC
A little velcro on the controllers and tripod makes it easy to store the controller.
The electric focus motor is nice if u can afford to splurge for it.

Overall Rating: 6
Optics:7 Mount:6 Ease of Use:5 Value:7
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=56336

Meade ETX-90EC
On a good night I can see some of the other reviewers, as they are clearly from another planet. With a currently available street price of under $250.00, the ETX-90RA is an insane value. The optics are excellent PERIOD!!. DEFINATELY NOT inconsistent as others have claimed. Some of these reviews are unbelievabley biased. The undeniable fact is, given the 90mm aperture size, the ETX-90RA delivers excellent performance.
The mounts are plastic, but they are sturdy enough to support the light weight of the scope and well built. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous. If you paid $595.00 for one of these scopes, then you paid $300.00 for the mount, which is too much for what it is. But again the whole package is currently available for $250.00 or less. Meade has discontinued this model, which is why they are available for so little right now. The single RA drive motors are accurate and manual slewing on either axis could not be easier. The rear of the scope is also plastic, but I have yet to read a review that involved one actually breaking. The finder scope is a pain in the butt, yet many suitable solutions exist. Yes the Questar comparisons are inevitable, and I am awrare of at least one Questar owner who admits, as many other unbiased reveiwers substantiate, the ETX-90 optics are at least equal if not better. But that is where the comparison ends. The Questar is a finely crafted instrument and priced accordingly. If fine craftsmanship is important then buy a Questar if not buy an ETX-90RA.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=58399

Meade ETX-90EC
The origional ETX was my first serious telescope and I learned alot from it. I was able to find obscure objects like M76 and M79 by starhopping with the ridiculous little finder. The price was a constant stiff neck and alot of TUMS!
I now have a few more scopes and years of experience under my belt. If I could do it all over again I would RUN for the nearest 6" dob. For any beginner out there this is a far and away better choice. It is easier to use, steadier and generally more versatile. My wife observes with me and her scope is an Orion XT6 and it is first rate! I also own an 8" Celestron dob with decent optics. I purchased this one year after the ETX. The ETX is a very good looking scope but don't be swayed by looks and gadgetry alone there are much better scopes for beginners out there.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=62595

Meade ETX-90EC
I think Meade has done a great job for making a telescope that not only has excellent optics but also portability and style at an affordable price range.
I am glad I have purchased this marvelous telescope for I can take it anywhere with ease and it is so easy to setup. However, I had to get the optional 884 mount which costs additional $200. But it was worth it. And a couple of additional eye pieces are also necessary. You should get the Super Plossl 9.7mm and 2X barlow lenses to get the maximum value out of this one. However, it applies to all the other telescopes anyway! You have to get additional eye pieces, etc, etc...

I think this telescope is an excellent choice if you intend to use it as a portable take-anywhere telescope with excellent optics and cool gadgets.
With ETX90-EC, you can't go wrong!
I'd recomment it to anyone!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 7 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=69833

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